Jon Jones vs. Rashad Evans official for UFC 145 in Atlanta

Rumor became fact last night when it was confirmed that UFC light heavyweight champ Jon Jones would defend his title in Atlanta against Rashad Evans. The announcement came shortly after Evans locked up the opportunity at UFC on FOX 2 by beating previously undefeated wrestler Phil Davis in a clear-cut decision after five rounds of relatively one-sided action.

Assuming both men remain healthy, far from a given based on the attempted pairing’s past, the headlining bout between Evans-Jones will take place on April 21 at UFC 145. The card is also slotted to feature match-ups including Mac Danzig vs. Efrain Escudero, Rory MacDonald vs. Che Mills, and Brendan Schaub vs. Ben Rothwell.

The fight should help settle a rivalry between Jones-Evans that was spawned when “Bones” mentioned he would face then-teammate Evans if it meant winning the title. His comments rubbed Evans the wrong way who then departed his longtime home at Greg Jackson’s academy in New Mexico and the two 205ers have been at each others’ throats ever since.

Leading up to Evans’ fight with Davis, Jones even mentioned the possibility of “Sugar” ‘Shad getting knocked out, saying “Rashad’s chin really sucks.”

PHOTO CREDIT – UFC

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MMATraining Take: Atlanta is a great city to have Evans-Jones in though I’d like to see one more star-laden match-up made since the card’s current lineup is solid but not spectacular. Evans-Jones is obviously a huge fight but every PPV deserves a good co-headliner too.